Phil Knighton and Friends in a Model T
Well, why not talk about cars? Who isn’t tired of talking about COVID? Or politics?
For many of us, driving in high school was a rite of passage. Nearly everyone remembers driving adventures, driving disasters, and driving rituals like dragging Douglas. Mostly, we drove the family car, although some of us got our own wheels. Driving became routine, but not for all of us. Some people just loved driving and really, really loved cars.
The 1960 Echoes yearbook offers examples of our generation’s preoccupation with cars. For the Homecoming parade, shivering candidates for Homecoming Queen were driven around the frigid stadium track on the backs of convertibles, some belonging to classmates and some wangled from car dealers by Gene Carter. How did he do that? Elected royals Calvin Ross and Vicki Pettit Foss were driven to dinner in a 1960 Chrysler New Yorker secured from R.D. McKay Motor Company and driven by – Gene Carter, again.
Convertibles, new cars, and hot cars were the favorites, but the 1960 Echoes also included a photo of a Model T restored by Phil Knighton being driven by Phil along a sidewalk in front of East High. At the request of a yearbook photographer, Phil collected Jack Kleinheksel, Eric Knorr, and Gene Carter. The photographer had seen Phil and his Model T in a parade and made arrangements for the Saturday photo shoot.
In January 2022, the 1960 Virtual Reunion Website will feature stories about driving and cars. The stories include a variety of car memories.
- The first car-on-fire story from a classmate who has seen multiple family cars in flames
- 60 years of cars and why we loved or hated them from two different – yes—guys
- Prom date who dove headfirst into the passenger seat of a race car with doors welded shut, while her mother stuffed her dress through the window
- Several disasters, one with mom’s DeSoto and another with Dad’s new Buick
We are hoping that you will share your memories of cars and driving. Send your stories to us or get in touch if you have an idea and could use some help turning it into a story. Contact info:
- Marilyn Tompkins Bellert (mbellert@niu.edu) who drove an unreliable green Ford station wagon to school, to the Dodge City Basketball Tournament, and into gas stations on fumes.
- Diane Rusch Zinn (ddzinn@aol.com), who drove a ’54 Ford Sedan – light blue with a royal blue and white vinyl interior – perfect for the Aces!
- Fred Elder (elder@engr.wisc.edu), whose ’58 Plymouth, V-8 , stick shift, ran fast, when it ran, which was only part of the time.
